Monday, February 22, 2010

whoa...

i'm not quite sure what possessed me to think that we could do all of the activities that were planned this weekend. i mean, we did them. but man, was i exhausted by the end of it!

loved nearly every minute of it, though. i have so many amazing friends, a wonderful husband and some awesome youth group kids. and i guess that's what made this weekend all worth while.

it started with a drive on friday afternoon to charlottesville, va, where our middle schoolers were attending the annual student ministries of virginia conference, "launch." emelie and i were asked to chaperone, so we drove together and marveled at the foothill mountains that we saw as we were coming into town.

still plenty of remnants from the snow a couple of weeks ago...actually, a lot. check out this parking lot pile. (and try to keep middle school boys off of huge snow piles. it's nearly impossible!)we had dinner and got our seats for the first session...and even though i was called "old lady" by several people on facebook, i stand by my earplugs. we're always seated close to the speakers, and i can hear everything i need to hear with earplugs in and not feel like i'm suffering hearing loss.the comedy act was awesome--the isaac improv group. they were hilarious and i was reminded of the nights when i'd watch re-runs of "whose line is it anyway?" and crack up. really really funny.tim hunt was the first speaker, and did a great job. he introduced the idea of how many of us wear a mask to cover up their faith, and how allowing our faith to become our own often requires us to remove the mask.so then we passed out masks to all of the kids and allowed them to wear them for the rest of the night, as well as add any "masks" that they hide behind for their faith.(most of ours drew facial hair on theirs.)the next morning, after a very short night of sleep, we picked up some much needed starbucks!and got ready for the 2nd session. the aaron pelsue band was doing the music again (we had just seen them at middle school ccyc back in november) so we were pretty familiar with their songs.this is their lead female singer (and aaron's wife) and i love her haircut. do you think i could pull this off? it's just adorable and i took several pictures from various angles to see if i could possibly recreate it with robin :)frank johnson did the second lesson and continued with the mask analogy--great speaker!(i liked the shadows.)emelie and i had to leave after lunch, so we did our group photo before we left. i was digging the graffiti wall right next to the auditorium. one photo with the masks...and then the line-up without."crazy picture!"nice motto on the concrete--picture-worthy.and i'm sure there's a story behind this one...right after lunch, we began our drive back. and before we knew it, we were here:our girls' ministry "purity ball," where all of the teenage girls who participated in our lessons received rings and pledged to keep themselves pure until marriage. our women's ministry also gave each of them a china plate, sharing with them the idea that they are each a piece of fine china, designed with a purpose by God and should be treated as such.there was also plenty of picture taking, including this prom-like picture with our husbands.me with my fearless co-leader!and finally, we ended the night with dancing. first a full dance floor. then a few of the girls and some stragglers. and by the end, it was me, emelie and lynn. and we had the best time :)(socks were provided by the organizer of the event just for the purpose of taking off your shoes and dancing. great idea!)

sunday was a full day of church and errands, but i got plenty of sleep, glorious sleep, and felt great. i love being a part of these ministries, and i love being able to be a part of so many kids growing in their faith. we have a pretty easy week, and then i'll be heading westward for jonah's birthday party! can't wait to see that little guy....

About Me

I am a devoted Christian, loving wife, mother to a beautiful son, and pet-mom to an adorable dog and two neurotic cats. I am a licensed clinical social worker and work in the counseling center at our local university. I also do freelance photography work for the local paper, as well as weddings and portraits. I spend my free time with my wonderful family, volunteering with my church youth group, hanging out with my friends, doing crafty stuff and shopping.